Alexandra Simpson is a mask designer and builder based in Toronto. With the support of the Ontario Arts Council Chalmers Professional Development Fund she studied masking building in leather, wood, and paper mache at the Sartori International Workshop and in Worbla with Alessandra Faienza and Loic Nebrada. Alexandra has built masks for several ATC productions including Rhino Lassies, Finding Home, Pest Me Pet Met, Care, and In Search Of, as well as other new works including The Giving Tree (Trellis Arts), There is No Word for Wilderness (Lisa Hamalainen).
As an actor and theatre creator herself, Alexandra takes a character centred approach to her designs and loves working with narrative to inspire her work. She considers the full world that the mask exists within. She enjoys making characters that embrace elements of fantasy and the grotesque, exploring unique shapes and textures that come alive on stage. Alexandra works in a variety of materials including Worbla, paper mache, leather, fabrics, found materials and is still exploring. Recently, Alexandra has been exploring with moving masks. Please see the video below for an example.
Mask Example from Animacy Theatre Collective on Vimeo.
